PUMA joined forces with Bafana Bafana captain Steven Pienaar to support his social responsibility cause, the Steven Pienaar Community Tournament, which took place in his old neighbourhood of Westbury over the weekend of June 16 and June 17.

Young fans mobbed Pienaar, who starred on-loan at Everton in the EPL, when he attended the tournament on Youth Day 16 June to show his support in person.

The creative midfielder, who still has family and friends in Westbury and visits whenever he comes back to South Africa, signed hundreds of autographs and posed for photographs with his fans.

“My old neighbourhood still faces many social challenges and this is my way of putting something back,” said Pienaar. “It is great that PUMA has come on board to work with me, as this is a project very close to my heart.”

PUMA, Pienaar’s boot sponsor, came on board to support his inspirational initiative. “We have chosen to support Steven’s work in his old hood and this will include supplying kit and prizes,” says Brett Bellinger, Marketing Director of PUMA South Africa. “There are some challenging social issues in Westbury, so the work that Steven does via this initiative is as important as it is impressive.”

The annual tournament featured 16 teams - Eldos FC, Northcliff FC, Sporting FC Young Dutchman, The Boys, Nazarene United, Argentinos FC, Ma Nats, Nazarene FC, Cosmos, Yorkshires, FCAK Makaveli, South Bakels, Rebels, Commodores and Big Boys.

The teams played three group games over the weekend of 9 and 10 June at the Oval in Westbury and at Union Stadium in Newlands, with the quarterfinals and semi-finals on Saturday 16 June and the 3-4-place playoff and the finals on Sunday 17 June.

Besides the annual football tournament, Pienaar also has an annual function for pensioners in Westbury.